


For resolution show me some revolution

by astralplanewife



Series: You've got a war, but who are you fighting for [2]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Angst and Humor, Autism Spectrum, Autistic!Mitsuki, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Memes, Mental Health Issues, Nonbinary!Orochimaru, Social Anxiety, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-08-21 17:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16581146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralplanewife/pseuds/astralplanewife
Summary: Sumire, who still feels sort of bad about that one time she sort of tried to destroy the entirety of Konoha, starts attending an art class as part of an effort towards self-improvement. Coincidentally Mitsuki is also there, fresh back from whatever the hell he was doing in the Land of the Earth. Will their similar issues(such as extreme overwhelming all-consuming guilt) mean that they can help eachother out or will they just be driven further apart by their bad history?





	1. Count my stitches

**Author's Note:**

> hello... i wrote this... please read these disclaimers b4 u read:
> 
> 1) This takes place after Mitsuki has returned to Konoha after running away to the Land of the Earth. As of writing this(10/11-18), that arc is about halfway through(I think?). This means that I have no idea how that arc will end and this is just pure speculation. The assumption I'm working under that is that Mitsuki will apologize to his friends and return(but still feel pretty bad about it afterwards), but not actually talk to Orochimaru about their manipulation of him. Not sure if that's gonna turn out that way, but for the sake of this fanfic pls pretend that it will!
> 
> 2) This fanfic deals with parental emotional (not explicit)manipulation and the fallout of which that is mental illness/guilt in abuse victims. Sumire’s and Mitsuki’s friendship is also meant to be kind of toxic/unhealthy at first(but it improves!). These are very sensitive subjects and I really hope I can do them justice. Please tell me if anything in this is inaccurate, but also remember that I'm just an amateur fanfiction author on the internet, I don't have any actual training in counseling.The ways the characters deal with their situations are not meant to be applicable to IRL situations and are not meant as actual advice in the slightest. I'm just writing from my own experience and if this is something that could be triggering to you, I would advice you not to read this. 
> 
> 3) i interpreted mitsuki as queer/LGBTQ in this fanfic, and I comment on his relationship with boruto with that interpretation in mind. however it's not the main focus+it's one-sided so i still think this qualifies as a gen fanfic overall. 
> 
> beta read by @reaperduckling  
> title from the song "Hard Times" by Patrick Wolf

The school counselor’s office was dusty and the chair Sumire was sitting in looked like something had been spilled on the armrest. She tried to avoid getting her sleeve on the stain, even though it had probably been there forever and wouldn’t rub off. But she felt stained enough already, thank you very much.

“Miss Kakei… You have been discharged from solitary confinement and completed your community service program months ago. I hear from your teachers that you’re even a genin now, and have a team of your own. Ms. Hyuga tells me that you’re a competent and resourceful part of Team 15. So… Why are you here?” The school counselor asked.

“I…. I just feel bad all the time. I can’t stop thinking about what I _did_. I put Konoha in so much danger by summoning Nue…” Sumire said quietly.

“Miss Kakei, your file says that you were heavily manipulated by your father when he was still alive, and possessed by the so-called "Ghost" while trying to exact revenge on Konoha. You cannot be held responsible for your actions. You were and are a _child_ and your father used that to his advantage to fill you with hatred. Point is; you weren’t the one to blame.”

“But I _still_ _did_ the things I did! I still felt that hatred within me! And even though I’m not possessed anymore, I feel so _angry_ all of the time!” Sumire protested.

"The person that is the hardest to forgive is sometimes yourself. You need to learn from what happened and move on. It's totally understandable that you're feeling these things, and it's good that you brought this up. If you want, we can have regular meetings and we can talk about what happened in depth." The school counselor said.

“I’d… like that. A lot.” Sumire said.

“Also, I think that maybe some artistic expression might be good for you. Or maybe some kind of hobby? Just to get your mind off things.”

-*-

Well, going to a painting class sounded like a good kind of “artistic expression”. Sumire had read all about this class in _the_ _Ninja Newspaper:_

“Paint your feelings!”

An art class held at the Ninja Academy at 7 pm on Wednesdays. Admission is free. Please “YEET” on over!

To be fair, all the information she could find about the class sounded incredibly vague. But it would probably be really fun, still. As she entered the described classroom, she was greeted by only one person that she had already met under more dire circumstances.

“Oh, Mr. Yamanaka! Hi…” She mumbled.

“Hello, and welcome to ‘Paint your feelings’, Sumire! Inojin has told me all about you. You can call me Sai.” Mr. Sai said while smiling widely.

“Uh, well, I guess my bad decisions kind of told you all about me as well…” Sumire said, fiddling with her braided hair while starting to feel a pit of anxiety in her stomach. It seemed like she couldn't escape what she had done anyway anyhow.

“No, no, what’s important is that Inojin says you're great." Mr. Sai winked.

Or rather, he blinked with both eyes and Sumire _assumed_ that he was trying and failing to wink, and she felt somewhat reassured by that.

“Oh, ok! Am I the only one who’s showed up yet though?” Sumire asked.

“No, there’s another one from your old class right here! Mitsuki, right?" Sai said while pointing to a spot that Sumire had previously mistaken for just wallpaper.

Sure enough, Mitsuki was actually sitting there, staring at her with a very blasé expression. Sumire’s anxiety levels started spiking again. While Sumire was very glad that Mitsuki was ok after returning from the Land of the Earth and had re-joined Team 7(and that they had all apparently restored their genin rank), they didn't really have a connection, per se. Also, there was the fact that they hadn't really actually spoken to each other since Mitsuki had tried to assassinate her for reasons _still kind of_ unclear to her. Something about his employer wanting to experiment on Nue?

“Sorry, I didn’t see you…” Sumire apologized.

Mitsuki just smiled at her in response. However, it didn’t seem very genuine which made Sumire feel even more on edge. But come to think of it, didn’t Mitsuki always smile like that? Maybe that was just how his face worked, and Sumire was just reading into things as usual. She was interrupted from her racing thoughts by the sound of someone speaking up.

“Aw shucks, I don’t think any more kids are going to show up tonight. That’s too bad, I even put a may-may in _the Ninja Newspaper_ ad to make this class seem hip…” Mr. Sai said regretfully. He continued:

“Well, grab a paper, pen and your feelings. Let’s get started drawing!”

-*-

The art class really did end up being fun. Sumire was just adding the finishing touch on her painting, a swirly black-blue-purply night sky by sprinkling some glitter on it to look like stars, while she peeked on what Mitsuki had been working on.

He had filled an entire paper with small scribbles of snakes. He seemed to notice Sumire looking at him and smiled the same weird way as before.

“It’s just what comes to mind.”

“Uh, ok…” Sumire said awkwardly.

Mr. Sai walked over to him and took a look.

“Uh… Well, whatever jutsu a ninja uses is close to heart, I guess. I like it!” He said while doing a thumbs up to Mitsuki(who didn’t react in any sort of way to the praise).

When it was Sumire’s glittery masterpiece’s turn to be examined, Mr. Sai had nothing but good things to say about that one either.

“…The excellent use of glitter really brings it all together!” He said.

Soon enough, the hour had passed and it was time to go home.

-*-

Apparently, Sumire and Mitsuki lived in the same direction because after the art class was done for the evening Mitsuki awkwardly walked a few steps after her on her way home.

“You know what, I’m glad Boruto stopped me from killing you. If I had succeeded, I don’t think things would have turned out as well as they are now.” Mitsuki said _, completely_ out of nowhere.

“Uh, thanks..?” Sumire responded, dumbfounded.

A very awkward moment passed.

“Did that come out wrong? You’re doing that _thing_ with your face that people do when things I say sound weird to them.” Mitsuki asked.

“Sorry, I _really_ don’t want to be mean, but you sound _a bit…_ callous when you say it like that. A _tiny_ bit.”

Mitsuki continued to look extremely confused.

"You know because this is my life we're talking about…?" Sumire continued. She was starting to feel a _tiny_ bit annoyed by now.

“ _Oh._ Sorry. I don’t really value my life in that way, so I keep assuming that others don’t care about themselves as well. It has _really_ become a giant source of problems since I came to Konoha,” Mitsuki said.

Sumire just kept on walking quietly, until Mitsuki spoke up again moments later.

“What I was trying to say is that the person I was then was infinitely worse than the still pretty bad person I am now, and I'm glad I didn't end up as a rogue ninja killing a classmate to sate my pare-uh, _employer’s_ lust for contro…-I mean, _knowledge_. I’m sorry, Sumire. I now understand better what you were going through, and that you were innocent all along.”

Sumire stopped walking and turned around to face him.

“That really means a lot coming from you. I accept your apology," she said.

Mitsuki just stared at her in response.

“Should I leave now? My apartment is the opposite way, and I don’t really understand how apologies work…”

“No, you _shouldn’t_ leave! I mean, you’re of course _allowed_ to!” Sumire said, stumbling over the last part.

“I have mastered all escape jutsu there is. Even if I wasn’t allowed to leave, there wouldn’t be a problem.” Mitsuki deadpanned.

“There is just one thing I have to ask of you. Do you want to hug?”

“What.”

“It’s a symbol of forgiveness! But you don’t have to if you don’t want to!” Sumire explained slightly frantically.

Mitsuki held out his arms awkwardly.

“Like this?” He asked.

Sumire took pity and hugged him without bothering to explain that he was kind of making it weird.

When she let go she noticed that he was now slightly taller than her, which was the opposite from what she remembered from their past fight. She couldn’t ponder that for long though as Mitsuki quickly took a step back to put some distance between them.

“Ok. What do I do now?” He asked.

“You’re forgiven! So you can do whatever you want, really.”

Mitsuki was quiet for a moment.

“See you next Wednesday." He said and walked away. A few seconds later he did a complete 180-degree turn and briskly came back.

“Uh, did you forget something?” Sumire asked.

“I… want to talk to you about something. Not what we just talked about. Well, sort of…” Mitsuki began, looking uncharacteristically _anxious_ instead of his usual offbeat-ness.

Sumire didn’t know what to make of this, but it seemed to be important to him so she let him continue.

“That night when you summoned Nue…you more or less said that your parent brainwashed you. I think my, uh, employer… did something. To me. I don’t remember anything before waking up and them telling me that I had to go on a mission to retrieve my lost memories from some rogue ninja… But it was all a lie, I think my employer was the one who erased my memories in the first place. I..,” Mitsuki said.

His voice was shaking and he had started rubbing his face with his hands.

This was really, really out of character for him. He was being extremely nonsensical to boot. Sumire didn’t know what to think.

 Mitsuki stuttered onward with:

“The reason why I left Konoha is… because I realized that I have no idea what or who I am. My _parent_ stole that knowledge from me in some kind of experiment to make me _stronger_ but what’s the point of being stronger if… I don’t know what I want to protect? I thought I was doing it for Boruto, but I think that’s based on brainwashing too. I just like him so mu-“

“Wait, what? Are your employer and your parent the same person? The one who ordered you to kill me? Mitsuki, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Sumire interrupted.

Mitsuki looked up at her with wide eyes, like he’d been caught doing something awful. His face seemed to shut down and he was now visibly shaking all over.

Sumire had no idea what was going on, so she decided to change the subject slightly.

 “Uh, yeah, but that other thing you said! To me it just sounds like you _like_ Boruto, and I mean, who doesn’t! He makes friends easily and is extremely uh, likable. Nothing weird about that!” she tried.

“You don’t understand. But to be fair, I don’t understand either. I just can’t stop thinking about how much _I like him_ , and about how _bad_ I feel for betraying him...”

This… was really, _really_ unexpected.

“Look, even if your parent somehow _‘manipulated you into liking Boruto’_ , you have clearly gotten to know him by now. The fact that you still feel the same way means that you genuinely think that he’s… uh… A swell guy?” Sumire tried. She couldn’t believe that she was giving _crush advice_ to _Mitsuki_ of all people. Well, she couldn’t blame him all that much, honestly. From what she’d heard about gay people from the one Sex Ed lesson they had at the Ninja Academy, coming to terms with it could be really tough!

Mitsuki seemed to slightly calm down at that. At least he stopped rocking back and forth.

“Yeah, I guess,” He mumbled and shifted uncomfortably.

“Mitsuki, I don’t know about all the parent stuff, maybe you could talk to Mr. Sai about that. But if you’re confused about what you’re feeling for someone, you can absolutely speak to me about that. You’re my friend and I want to help you.” Sumire said, really feeling this amateur counselor groove she had gotten going.

A very red-eyed Mitsuki looked up at her from under his hands still partly covering his face.

“Thank you, Sumire. I will talk to Mr. Sai about this. See you next Wednesday, I guess.” He said, quickly turning around and walking away.

Sumire looked at him go with a really weird feeling in her chest. It was not often that she was the stable one giving advice to anxious others, it was usually quite the opposite.

She kind of liked being the helper rather than the helpless, dependent one, though.

-*-

 

Back at the school counselor, Sumire had a lot to talk about.

“I had lots of fun at the art class! I even really helped a friend out who was, uh, having a rough time..”  Sumire chirped.

“Well, that’s a mark of being a great friend. Are you and this friend very close?” The school counselor said.

“Uh, not really, but he was really freaked out about something. He said some stuff that I couldn’t help him with, and some stuff I could. Also, he asked me about.. uh…” Sumire felt her stomach sink. Nonetheless, she continued:

"He asked me about manipulative parents. I couldn't really help him with that since I don't really know much. But… don't I, sort of? My dad was… awful to me by using me as a weapon to get his revenge. I don't know if I'll ever forgive him, but I guess it doesn't matter since he's… dead."

“I think it still matters to _you_ if you forgive him or not, but you don’t have to. Sometimes forgiveness is the answer, but sometimes the opposite is best. Maybe we can talk more about this later and figure out what _you_ want?” The school counselor said while writing something down in a notepad.

“Yeah… yeah. Sure.” Sumire said.


	2. Count my stitches 2.0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know what, I’m glad Boruto stopped me from killing you. If I had succeeded, I don’t think things would have turned out as well as they are now.” Mitsuki said.  
> “Uh, thanks..?” Sumire responded in a way that she wasn’t supposed to.  
> A very awkward moment passed while Mitsuki was trying to think of what to say next.  
> “Did that come out wrong? You’re doing that thing with your face that people do when things I say sound weird to them.” Mitsuki asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wohooo mitsuki POV????? *dabs in on a motorcycle*

Truth is, Mitsuki hadn’t planned on going to the art class at all. He just kind of ended up there by mistake, as he was sitting in a seemingly abandoned classroom in the Ninja Academy staring at the wall for what seemed for only a couple of minutes.

Once he’d gotten bored of staring at the wall, he glanced at a clock that told him that he’d been apparently doing this for several, several hours.

Well, that was yet another worrisome sign that he could add to the list of other _worrisome_ things that had been happening for as long(or as short) as he could remember. The list was pretty long by now, but all of that was something that he pretty much tried to ignore as much as possible at all times.

Mitsuki was jolted out of his thoughts by a man who he had already met once under way more dire circumstances opening the door to the classroom: Mr. Sai, the one that had interrogated him after he had came back to Konoha after that whole extremely sordid Land of the Earth-affair.  When Mr. Sai asked him if he was here for the art class, Mitsuki smiled and nodded out of muscle memory. They were later  joined by Sumire, who apparently just mistook him for wallpaper at first.

“Sorry, didn’t see you…” Sumire apologized.

Well, it’s not like it mattered anyway.

Drawing actually turned out to be pretty fun, and Mr. Sai even had some good things to say about his finished result. Halfway across gathering his things to go home when the class had ended, a thought struck Mitsuki: had he ever really apologized to Sumire for trying to assassinate her? He was almost positive that he hadn’t, and he felt like he probably should at some point. Any time good as any, right?

As soon as they had left the Academy building, he seized the opportunity.

“You know what, I’m glad Boruto stopped me from killing you. If I had succeeded, I don’t think things would have turned out as well as they are now.” Mitsuki said _._

“Uh, thanks..?” Sumire responded in a way that she wasn’t supposed to.

A very awkward moment passed while Mitsuki was trying to think of what to say next.

“Did that come out wrong? You’re doing that _thing_ with your face that people do when things I say sound weird to them.” Mitsuki asked.

“Sorry, I _really_ don’t want to be mean, but you sound _a bit…_ callous when you say it like that. A _tiny_ bit.”

This didn’t really explain anything.

"You know because this is my life we're talking about…?” Sumire continued, talking as if she was explaining this to a small child.

“ _Oh._ Sorry. I don’t really value my life in that way, so I keep assuming that others don’t care about themselves as well. It has _really_ become a giant source of problems since I came to Konoha,” Mitsuki said.

Sumire just kept on walking quietly, so Mitsuki spoke up again moments later.

"What I was trying to say is that the person I was then was infinitely worse than the still pretty bad person I am now, and I'm glad I didn't end up as a rogue ninja killing a classmate to sate my pare-uh, _employer’s_ lust for contro…-I mean, _knowledge_. I’m sorry, Sumire. I now understand better what you were going through, and that you were innocent all along.”

Sumire turned around, staring him right in the eyes.

“That really means a lot coming from you. I accept your apology," she said.

Mitsuki didn’t really know what to say further, it seemed like he had achieved his objective in this conversation already.

“Should I leave now? My apartment is the opposite way, and I don’t really understand how apologies work…”

“No, you _shouldn’t_ leave! I mean, you’re of course _allowed_ to!” Sumire said.

“I have mastered all escape jutsu there is. Even if I wasn’t allowed to leave, there wouldn’t be a problem.” Mitsuki explained helpfully.

“There is just one thing I have to ask of you. Do you want to hug?”

“What.”

“It’s a symbol of forgiveness! But you don’t have to if you don’t want to!” Sumire explained, getting more frantic with each word she spoke.

Mitsuki held out his arms in what he thought was right. It probably wasn’t but he kept going.

“Like this?” He asked.

Then Sumire hugged him. It was ok as hugs went.

 “Ok. What do I do now?” He asked.

“You’re forgiven! So you can do whatever you want, really.”

Mitsuki was quiet for a moment.

"See you next Wednesday." He said and walked away. But something made him turn back.

“Uh, did you forget something?” Sumire asked.

“I… want to talk to you about something. Not what we just talked about. Well, sort of…” Mitsuki began. Instead of feeling nothing like he usually did, now he was feeling something like his words kept running away from him and escaping his clutch. Like he was doing something he was under no circumstances supposed or _allowed_ to do. Something he just couldn’t.

Nevertheless, he persisted.

“That night when you summoned Nue…you more or less said that your parent brainwashed you. I think my, uh, employer… did something. To me. I don't remember anything before waking up and them telling me that I had to go on a mission to retrieve my lost memories from some rogue ninja… But it was all a lie, I think my employer was the one who erased my memories in the first place. I..,” Mitsuki said.

 While he was talking, he realized that he had no idea why he was saying any of these things to Sumire. But he couldn’t stop talking, and the rest was kind of a blur. He remembered saying something about Boruto and letting it slip that his employer was in fact, his parent. Mitsuki’s mind went completely blank after that, Sumire’s words to him not quite reaching his ears.

“...all the parent stuff, maybe you could talk to Mr. Sai about that. But if you’re confused about what you’re feeling for someone, you can absolutely speak to me about that. You’re my friend and I want to help you.”

He had made a terrible mistake. A terrible, _terrible_ mistake. He said something agreeable that vaguely connected to what Sumire had said, and left as soon as he could.

-*-

Next Wednesday came, and just like last time Sumire and Mitsuki were the only students in the classroom. After all, last time had turned out to be pretty fun, except for the mental breakdown afterward. But nevermind all that!

“You know, I really thought Inojin would come. Since he’s so good at art!” Sumire said, breaking the silence.

 “Yeah, I really thought so too… But I think he’s _‘too cool’_ for it. Maybe I really should have gone with two may-mays in _the Ninja Newspaper_ ad instead of just one, that would probably have convinced him. It would’ve been so much fun with him here…” Mr. Sai sighed.

He then proceeded to tell them this night’s assignment: a self-portrait.

 “Draw not only what’s on the outside, but what’s on the _inside_ too!”

Mitsuki decided to draw a bunch of snakes again, but this time he put in a pair of (human, crying)eyes too. It just seemed to fit. Smiling, he turned his piece of art around.

“It’s just what comes to mind," Mitsuki explained.

“It’s beautiful!” Sai said. “Are you having some… emotional issues?”

“No, I just like drawing crying eyes and snakes. It’s all I draw. It’s been like that forever,” Mitsuki backtracked.

It was definitely untrue, but what did it matter.

 “Are you sure? All signs point to you having some deeply conflicting feelings inside you.” Mr. Sai said.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't know. Personally, I just don't think about what's bothering me until it becomes too pressing of an issue to keep on ignoring. Then I deal with it quietly and maturely," Mitsuki said.

"Was that why you ran away from the village and made all your friends think that you had committed treason? I'm going, to be honest here and say that it's the opposite-it was the most dramatic thing you could've possibly done," Mr. Sai said.

Mitsuki at first felt vaguely offended/confused (it was hard to tell what he was feeling most of the time), but then shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said.

“Maybe you were just acting out because you felt hurt?” Sumire asked.

“Yeah, _I guess_ ,” Mitsuki said while hunching over the table and starting to doodle yet another snake on his paper.

 “Well, actions have consequences. I guess that’s what we all can take away from this,” Mr. Sai said.

"You could say that. For example, Ms. Maia, CEO of the Konoha Environmental Protection Agency, keeps sending me angry letters written in what I assume is her own blood about how me releasing countless of my snakes into the wild is apparently ‘wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem'." Mitsuki said, not even looking up from his increasing snake doodle-covered paper. It really was true, today he had gotten _two_ letters.

The room was silent for a moment.

“And yes, I was awful to my friends by running away without explaining _anything_. I was also _extra_ awful for electrocuting Boruto when all he was trying to do was to help me. I don’t even understand why he forgave me. Basically, all I’ve done since I came to Konoha was to make things worse for everyone.” Mitsuki said.

“Yes, that’s all pretty accurate.” Mr. Sai said.

Sumire came to his defense.

“Mr. Sai, maybe be a little bit nic-“ She began, but Mr. Sai interrupted her.

“Mitsuki, you ‘done goofed’, as the kids call it. At least, I think they say that? Anyways, instead of just thinking of what a bad person you are, shouldn’t you be working on improving yourself? To, you know, be a person that deserves to be forgiven?” Mr. Sai said, annoyingly.

Mitsuki just drew another snake on his paper instead of answering, but Mr. Sai definitely had a point there.

-*-

At the end of the class, Mitsuki decided to talk to Mr. Sai. Sumire fled the classroom as soon as she could and even left her glitter-covered self-portrait behind, so the air was free.

“Mr. Sai, can I ask you something?” He said.

 He got the answer that he definitely could, so Mitsuki decided to just go for it:

“Mr. Sai, in your experience as a jonin of Konoha, is Orochimaru known for brainwashing their disciples?”

Mr. Sai, in turn, looked at him with a really weird expression.

“Yes, definitely. Orochimaru gained a lot of support from promising to make their disciples stronger, but in the end, always used them as playthings and betrayed them. This pattern is very well-documented in the extremely long file we have on them.” Mr. Sai said.

“Ok. Uh, I’m not asking for any reason, I just wanted to know.” Mitsuki said.

Sai kept looking at him with that strange gaze that Mitsuki now recognized as _pity._

“No reason, _really_? Well, ok. The advice I would give to someone in that specific situation is to talk to an adult that they felt that they could trust. Someone who isn’t affiliated with Orochimaru at all. _Maybe_ even someone like a _teacher_? But what do I know, I just _teach_ art right?” Mr. Sai said, turning away to tidy up the art supplies on the table.

Mitsuki decided that this was probably the end of the conversation, so he went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave me kudos and comments if you like this :D


	3. In sedation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I think if Boruto went on a date with a girl it would probably be Sarada, but he would just take her to Thunder Burger because he does not know how to treat girls," Mitsuki said, sounding unrecognizably chipper.
> 
> “No way…” Sumire said, not sure of how to react but still wanting to keep the conversation going.
> 
> “Yes. Furthermore, Sarada would probably not order any food and she would just silently stare at Boruto eating for an hour or so. Also, I feel like she would give him a bouquet of snakes? Or maybe flowers, I don’t know how dates work.”  
> -*-  
> This fanfic:The fun that keeps on going!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the exciting continuation(?)

Sumire turned up to the next art class with high hopes and a mission in mind - to make it less negative than the last one. When she entered the classroom she was again surprised by a spot of wallpaper turning out to be Mitsuki, but wasn’t greeted by Mr. Sai, which was a bit more unusual.

As they waited for Mr. Sai to even show up, small talk with Mitsuki turned out to be pretty easy - but all he wanted to talk about was Boruto.

“I think if Boruto went on a date with a girl it would probably be Sarada, but he would just take her to Thunder Burger because he does not know how to treat girls," Mitsuki said, sounding unrecognizably chipper.

“No way…” Sumire said, not sure of how to react but still wanting to keep the conversation going.

“Yes. Furthermore, Sarada would probably not order any food and she would just silently stare at Boruto eating for an hour or so. Also, I feel like she would give him a bouquet of snakes? Or _maybe_ flowers, I don’t know how dates work.”

“Uh, I don’t know. Sarada not eating anything and giving Boruto snakes for a gift sounds really out of character for her…”

 “Nope, that’s _exactly_ what Sarada is like. I would know, she’s my teammate.” Mitsuki said.

“Mitsuki, the person you’re describing sounds a lot more like _you_ than Sarada," Sumire responded.

A completely silent moment passed while Mitsuki just stared at her in response, and Sumire was beginning to fear that she had said something _really_ rude.

 “Sorry! I didn’t mean that, sorry, I take it back! It totally does sound like something Sarada would do!” Sumire backtracked.

“No, you’re right. It does sound a lot more like me than Sarada. I'm not sure why I can't imagine her personality properly since I actually do know her quite well.”

“Uh, well… Had you transferred yet to the Academy when we had the Sex Ed class or did you miss it? In it, we talked about stuff that you can, uh, feel, uh, on the inside for others of the same gender… uh…” Sumire said, not sure how to express it. She was probably sounding very awkward right now.

“Why do you ask? If you mean the lesson we had on LGBT people, _not_ BLT people like Boruto misheard it as, I _know_ what that is. My parent falls under that umbrella, uh, I think? I’m not sure, I’ll have to ask them…” Mitsuki said, trailing off at the end.

“Oh, ok! Well, maybe even more people are LGBT than you realize! Just a thought!” Sumire said while winking like a madwoman.

“Why is your eye doing that?”

“Sorry, it’s nothing!” Sumire fake-laughed impulsively while quickly covering her winking-eye with her hand, “I have a nervous twitch! It's, uh, a medical condition that I didn't make up at all just now!”

“Yeah, sure seems like it.”

Sumire stayed quiet for a while, feeling like she had caused enough embarrassment to herself already. Ugh, it was _so rude_ of her to meddle in Mitsuki’s personal business like this. He probably hated her by now. Sumire glanced over at him to see if he looked mad or not, but found that he was ignoring her and just staring out into space. This didn’t really confirm or deny any of Sumire’s thousands of anxious conspiracy theories, so she blurted out:

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

It took a moment before Mitsuki reacted to being spoken to. He slowly turned around to look at her.

“Bring up what?” He said.

“Uh, you know, uh, the LGBT stuff…”

“I don’t understand why you brought it up in the first place, and I don’t understand why you’re apologizing.”

Sumire’s insides were twisting and her face started going numb. She needed to explain herself so badly and she needed Mitsuki to not be angry with her anymore. Even if he _technically_ didn’t _look_ or _sound_ angry, he was _probably_ furious with her.

“I just thought… that maybe it would explain some of the things you’re feeling. About… what you said to me, after the first art class we had together.” She managed to get out.

“Wait, what was I feeling? I don’t remember what I said to you.”

There was a long pause.

“What? For serious? You literally don’t remember?” Sumire said, flabbergasted. This was a really confusing turn of events.

Mitsuki shook his head.

“Well, I guess that you were really upset… You said that you, uh, basically you said that you didn’t understand what you were feeling for a friend. And I thought… well, it sounded like you liked them, but like you didn’t realize it. And I said that you could talk about it with me if you wanted to, and here we are.” Sumire tried to explain, slowly getting the hold of the situation and her own emotions again.

“Which means?”

“Uh, I don’t want to put words in your mouth or anything, but maybe the reason why you keep thinking of a Sarada who acts conspicuously like you and Boruto going on dates is that you… want to go on a date with Boruto? Like a… what were the terms… a gay or bi person might feel? But you’re, uh, projecting those feelings onto someone else? My therapist told me that people can do that!”

Mitsuki just stared at her for a really long while. Sumire was still a bit(or a lot) unsure of whether he was mad at her or not.

“That would actually explain a lot. I’m going home to think for a while now. Thanks. Goodbye.” Mitsuki said with if possible, less inflection than usual.

He bolted for the door and disappeared before Sumire even had the time to react.

Sumire just sat and stared at the closed door for a moment. What had just happened? Soon the door swung open again, and to Sumire’s disappointment it wasn’t Mitsuki who had a change of heart, it was Mr. Sai who had arrived.

“Sorry for being late, I went mini-golfing with my wife and it ran, uh, _late_. Why do you look so sad, Sumire? Did something happen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how dramatic was this?? super dramatic if you ask me!!!!! pls leave me kudos and comments if you like this....


	4. And they only hear you with their pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the Orochimaru cave house hideout, things seemed to be about the same as usual.  
> “Look, I ordered this for you on the internet. It’s from Amasoon!” Orochimaru said, holding up a poster depicting a snake coiled around a clothesline with the words “Hang In There” on it.  
> It was the most beautiful thing Mitsuki had ever seen. But he could not get distracted.  
> -*-  
> Mitsuki goes home to have a talk with his parent. Will it go well? Read to find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta'd and ninja proof-checked by @reaperduckling

Well, if Mitsuki really was going _home_ to think about things, he should do it right this time. He should tell the rest of Team 7 in their instant message group chat that he was going away for a while, to prevent misunderstandings. He would have to be super clear and concise though, as his teammates sometimes apparently were confused by the snakey distortion effect his snake phone caused to written text.

 **Mitsuki(?):** Hello, Boruto and Sssarada. I am going away for a while ssso I won’t be taking part in misssionsss for a few daysss. It’sss family busssinesss, and I will be back after that.

He got no response for a couple of minutes, so he decided to just go.

-*-

At the Orochimaru cave house hideout, things seemed to be about the same as usual.

“Look, I ordered this for you on the internet. It’s from _Amasoon_!” Orochimaru said, holding up a poster depicting a snake coiled around a clothesline with the words _“Hang In There_ ” on it.

It wa _s_ the most _beautiful_ thing Mitsuki had ever seen. But he could _not_ get distracted.

“It’s alright,” He said blandly.

“ _Alright_? What do you mean by _just_ alright? Snake posters are usually your favorite thing in the world, what’s wrong with it? Are you mad at me? Did you hear a rumor about any of the horrible things I did in the past? Because they are _probabl_ y all true, _but_ to my defense-”

“No, no. I mean, _yes_. But it’s more of a current thing that you have done.” Mitsuki interjected, interrupting them.

Orochimaru just stared at him with no response.

“You know, the erasing my memories thing and brainwashing me..?”

“Oh! Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about that. Uh, yeah! That. To my defense I, uh, just kind of wanted to see what would happen. Didn’t mean to hurt your _feelings_ or anything.” Orochimaru said while waving their hands around in some weird gestures Mitsuki did _not_ understand.

Mitsuki didn’t really know what to say after that. Describing how he felt about this demanded vocabulary that he hadn’t learned by going to Konoha, and he _definitely_ hadn’t learned anything about explaining things he _felt_ from his parent. All they had done was teach him to bottle feelings up to avoid them.

“Don’t just stare at me and don’t say anything, it’s making me feel bad!” Orochimaru said.

“I’m your child and you did a thing that really hurt me, I think you should feel bad.”

Orochimaru, again, quietly stared at him for a really long time. After several minutes of a silent staring competition, Orochimaru broke the silence.

“You know, I thought we would be having this conversation when you were much older than you are right now... I can’t _really_ apologize to you, because I’ve been aware of how much my behavior has affected people around me for a really long time, and I haven’t cared. But if I’m hurting you enough for you to confront me like this, at this point in time, I can’t _not_ care anymore. I notice, you know, that you’re not all that _well_. That whole running off to the Land of the Earth-thing is proof enough. I can’t help to blame myself and my failings as a parent for that,” They said.

Mitsuki didn’t know how to respond to that either, so he waited.

“Maybe you could talk to the Ninja Academy counselor in Konoha, I can find myself an online therapist or something and we can work on this. I _do_ have an infinite amount of things to work on, but I can try. Does that sound good to you?” Orochimaru said.

Mitsuki reached his hand out for the snake poster that Orochimaru was still holding.

“I want to put this poster on the wall in my Konoha apartment. I _really_ like it, thank you for giving it to me,” He said as an answer.

It felt like a start.

-*-

 _(Wednesday 07.30 pm)_ **Mitsuki(?):** Hello, Team 7. I am going away for a while ssso I won’t be taking part in misssionsss for a few daysss. It’sss family busssinesss, and I will be back after that.

 _(Wednesday 08.14 pm)_ **Sarada Uchiha:** What? That’s very vague. Are you OK?

 _(Thursday 09.20 am)_ **Kagemasafan9000:** MITSUKI WHERE ARE YOOOUU we’re going on a mission today

 _(Thursday 09.22 am)_ **Sarada Uchiha:** Boruto, Mitsuki wrote something above that you might want to read.

 _(Thursday 09.25 am)_ **Kagemasafan9000:** ohh ok im gonna read it!!

(Thursday 09.26 am) **Kagemasafan9000:** WAIT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN????? TALK TO US BUDDYYYYY

-*-

The next day, as they were re-watching old episodes of reality TV(Cr _eeping up with the Cobradashians)_ on Ninjaflix, Orochimaru was as usual angry about the main starlet’s apparent lack of taste in men.

“Come on! Her last boyfriend was _way more_ handsome! Who’s _this_ clown?” Orochimaru complained loudly and gestured wildly in the general direction of the television screen.

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about, I think that he’s handsome enough,” Mitsuki said. And then remembered something. Something _really_ important, that he had completely forgotten about. So he continued:

“Even if looks apparently matter _a lot_ to some people _,_ does _gender_ matter to most people when they are deciding who they want to date? I feel like it shouldn’t.”

Orochimaru shot him a _look_. A very, _very_ long and calculating look.

“It matters to some people, but not to everybody. If it doesn’t to you in the future, that’s perfectly fine. I’ll love and support you no matter what.” They finally responded.

Mitsuki didn’t know what to say after that, mainly because he couldn’t identify what he was feeling. It felt similar to what he had felt when he had accepted the poster earlier today. It felt similar to what he had felt when he finally had gotten back to Konoha from the Land of the Earth with all of his friends saying that they _forgave him_ for betraying them(even if he hadn’t forgiven himself yet).

He guessed that it meant that he felt _happy_ about it. Mitsuki didn’t feel like ruining the ambiance of the moment by saying something though, so he kept on watching _the Cobradashians_ with his parent continuing to further loudly criticize all and every aspect of the show.

It _was_ a start.

-*-

 **Kagemasafan9000:** uh mitsuki if you see this please go online…. we’re worried….

 **Mitsuki(?):** Sorry, I jussst sssaw your messsage now. What are you worried about?

 **Sarada Uchiha:** It’s been three days!!! We thought that you were dead!!! Don’t do this!!!

 **Mitsuki(?):** I sssaid it was family bussssinesss, why would I be dead? I’m fine. I jussst haven’t checked my sssnake phone in a couple of days.

 **Sarada Uchiha:** We were worried because, well I don’t want to be mean, but your parent is kind of…. Weird…

 **Kagemasafan9000:** what Sarada means is that your parent is creepy!! really creepy! we thought that they had put you back in a lab tube or something!! or chopped u up into lil cubes and THEN put you back in a lab tube?!!

 **Mitsuki(?):** That’sss a bit uncalled for, they’re actually trying to be nice now. But I appreciate the concern, next time I go away I’ll check my phone more often ssso I don’t misss anything you guys write to me. Anywaysss, do any of you guysss have Sssumire Kakei’sss number? I want to ssend her a messsage.

 **Kagemasafan9000:** uh what kidn of… message… i didn’t know you guys were friends…

 **Mitsuki(?):** We are, actually! We go to the same art classs. I want to thank her for helping me out.

 **Sarada Uchiha:** Oh ok! I’ll send you her number if you promise to come back ASAP.

 **Mitsuki(?):** Yeah, sssure. I will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave me kudos if you like this and comments/questions/concerns are greatly appreciated!


	5. Overload of information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of this fanfic! What will happen? Who knows!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh so this is.... it... I guess. Hopefully you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it!
> 
> EDIT(4/12-18): In the first draft of this fanfic that i uploaded, there was a joke about "ninjabux" being the currency of the ninja world. i thought about this for a while(about 24 hours) and then realized that it was a pretty stupid joke since a) wouldn't it be more like... "ninja yen" since they are clearly japanese and b) the naruto universe has already an official currency according to narutopedia!! it's called ryō!! i apologize for my bad understanding of naruto lore and my bad researching skills

After the disaster that was the last art class, Sumire spent a few days in a daze. She carried out missions with her team as usual, but she felt strangely detached from reality.

In therapy, this came up.

“-so what you’re saying is that you’re feeling really upset because your new friend seems to be struggling?” The School Counselor said.

Sumire nodded.

“Well Miss Kakei, I think it’s important to remember that your friend probably has a support system of his own, and you don’t have to solve his problems for him. Worrying yourself sick about him isn’t helpful to you, even if you _really_ want to help him. I think you did the right thing by telling him to talk to an adult. But still, maybe you can check in on him next week and see how he’s doing?”

-*-

Afterward, when Sumire finally was home in her empty apartment, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

 **???:** Thank you.

Who was this random person, and _were they_ an _ax murderer_? How would an ax murderer even get her number in the first place? Sumire’s mind was buzzing with _so_ many questions!

 **Sumire:** Hello, you’ve reached Sumire Kakei. Who am I texting with?

 **???:** It’sss Mitsssuki from art classs. I’m in Team 7 with Sssarada and Boruto. We lassst talked a few days ago. I got your number from Sssarada.

 **Sumire:** Omg sorry I just didn’t recognize your number!! Why do you type like that?

 **Mitsuki:** Becaussse I’m usssing a sssnake phone. I can explain more in depth but it’sss apparently really annoying when I do ssso I won’t.

 **Sumire:** Oh ok sure?

 **Sumire:** Wait a minute!! You just stormed out of art class the other night and you seemed really sad, are you ok?

 **Mitsuki:** I am now. Like I told Boruto and Sssarada, I went to visssit my parent’sss houssse becaussse I had a lot to talk to them about. I’m thanking you for inssspiring me to finally talk to them.

 **Sumire:** Oh that’s great!! I’m so happy for you!!

 **Sumire:** Well will you be back to attend next art class? It’s really lonely without you!

 **Mitsuki** : Sssure. Ssse you.

-*-

Wednesday came around, and Sumire once again entered the classroom with high hopes. However, she was apparently too early for anyone else to have shown up yet. She took a seat and waited.

-*-

Sumire had almost given up hope on _anyone_ showing up when both Mitsuki and Mr. Sai burst through the door, both breathing hard like they had run a long distance.

“Sorry we’re late, we were a _bsolutely not_ having a heart-to-heart chat about family issues that ran late and then had to run up here!” Sai said and winked(/blinked with both eyes).

“Why are you lying? She knows about that.” Mitsuki said, eyeing Mr. Sai suspiciously. “I literally had a mental breakdown in front of her. I told you that an hour ago.”

Mr. Sai just kind of looked at him with a defeated expression.

“Why don’t kids get my sense of humor…” He muttered sadly while sitting down and getting started on unpacking the art supplies for tonight’s lesson.

“Uh…Well, you know, Mitsuki, I’m just happy to see that you’re feeling better now!” Sumire chirped, trying to make the best of the weird sudden mood change in the room.

“Uh, yeah, about that… I have a thank you gift for you.” Mitsuki held out a box wrapped in what looked like…

“Oh, cool, you got snakeskin-lookalike gift wrap!” Sumire laughed.

“No, it’s genuine snakeskin, shed from a rare snake that is not indigenous to this region. It’s worth at least one million ryō if you find the right collector. It can have many uses other than gift wrap, for example it's more durable than steel and can be folded into a very beautiful and stylish hat. Furthermore...”

“ _Uh_ … OK.” Sumire interrupted. Well, he was _trying_ to be nice. She quickly unwrapped the gift with as little actual contact with the snakeskin as possible and found a bundle of very fancy-looking arts and crafts-glitter of varying shades.

“I’ve noticed that you put a lot of glitter on your drawings here. This way, we can hang out here and draw and you’ll never run out of glitter.” Mitsuki said.

Sumire felt like she was about to start to _cry_. And then she did.

“Wait, do you _really_ hate it that much?” Mitsuki squeaked, completely taken aback.

“No, no, I’m just really happy we’re friends! These are _happy_ tears!” Sumire said, pulling Mitsuki in for a hug.

After that, Sumire spent an hour trying out her cool new glitter. She was however very distracted by the fact that Mr. Sai kept writing what was apparently popular teen sayings on the whiteboard and asking what they meant.

“Come on guys, Inojin just silently leaves the room when I ask him about these things, so I’m not getting _any_ info out of him! I just want to _impress_ him for once!” Mr. Sai wailed _miserably_.

-*-

“It’s a shame we couldn’t help Mr. Sai with his conundrum today. I only see the memes that Boruto sends to the Team 7 group chat at least five time a day, but I don’t even understand those _one bit._ ” Mitsuki said while they walked out of the Ninja Academy building later that night.

“I think Mr. Sai will survive, honestly…” Sumire said before she realized that it sounded kind of mean. She took a deep breath and just changed the subject.

“So. Mitsuki. Have you thought about your feelings that you thought that you had. For someone whose name starts with a _B_ ….” Sumire began very awkwardly.

“Yeah, about that. I honestly don’t know. I asked my parent about it and it _seems_ like a non-issue but it’s still _very_ confusing. So I’m just going to have to wait and see how I feel about it later on, and deal with it then. Currently, I am more focused on having my parent, _uh_ , improve their behavior which they said that they would.” Mitsuki said.

“Are you sure that they will?” Sumire asked.

Mitsuki stayed quiet for a beat.

“I really _hope_ so at least, otherwise I’m going to have to figure out something else.” He said, simply.

Sumire had to think about that for a moment, as she wasn't sure if she liked that answer or not. Something about it didn't sit well with her, but to be fair it wasn't Mitsuki's fault either way.

“Hey, we have to take a selfie!” She said, abruptly changing the subject.

“What.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s kind of dark out but there’s a streetlight right there! It’s our first official friend selfie, it’s going to be great!” Sumire chirped and walked over to the streetlight.

Mitsuki looked doubtful but followed her anyway. Once they were both properly illuminated, Sumire pulled up her phone and pulled a funny face and held up a peace sign to the camera.

“Wait, am I supposed to do that too?” Mitsuki asked.

“Yes!” Sumire said determinedly.

She snapped the picture and took a look at the result. To be honest, it wasn’t a very good picture. Mitsuki looked slightly uncomfortable pulling a weird face and Sumire’s stare into the camera was a bit _too intense_.

But it was still _perfect._ They would both just have to take life one step at a time from now on. _  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated!


	6. Epilogue: This battle will be won

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wrote an epilouge! yeehaw!

Taking life one step at a time was unsurprisingly difficult. Really, _really_ difficult. Mitsuki had spent so much time in stagnant emotional limbo that when things actually started to get better, he wanted them to improve all at once. But there were no rushing things, he supposed, as his parent had apparently been told in online therapy that "nearly all" of their mannerisms and behaviors were considered deal-breakers for healthy parent-child relationships.

 Mitsuki secretly hoped that the snake poster gifts from Amasoon weren’t included in those “nearly all” toxic behaviors, because he really liked those. His once almost empty apartment was now basically wallpapered with snake posters, except for the spots where he had put photographs of his friends and family. Mitsuki had also replaced the Boruto portrait on his nightstand with a picture of himself because the school counselor, Mr. Sai, _and_ Konohamaru-sensei(basically every adult he’d opened up to) had told him to put himself first.

-*-

 “Uh, Mitsuki…” Boruto inhaled through his teeth uncomfortably. “I don’t know how to say this, but I think the nightstand picture was better as it was before. Now you just look a bit…. Self-absorbed….”

"Well, it's symbolic for me so you'll just have to deal with it," Mitsuki said. He had invited Boruto and Sarada over for hanging out, not interior design critique.

“I really like the walls though! Now it looks like _a person_ lives here!” Sarada said.

“Uh, yeah! They’re great! He, he, ‘hang in there’, but with a snake instead of a kitten! That’s so funny!” Boruto said, seeming to regret his earlier transgressions.

“Thank you. My parent gifted me that one.” Mitsuki said.

Sarada and Boruto both did the “uncomfortable inhale” sound in unison while looking at each other worriedly. Mitsuki assumed that meant that he had to elaborate.

"They're way nicer to me now, by the way, you don't have to worry."

“Oh, that’s great! But we want you to know that…” Sarada began but was interrupted by Boruto.

“-If they ever do something mean to you again, you can come live with one of us! My mom is awesome, she can be _your_ mom too! She’s great for talking to about stuff…. On the inside! _Emotions!_ And stuff.” Boruto said while doing taijutsu chop hand motions for some reason to punctuate his words.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Mitsuki said. And then, because it seemed appropriate, he continued with:

“Also, I don’t think I’m straight. I’m saying this because we’ll soon be teenagers and from what I’ve heard, that’s when most people start dating. I don’t want to catch you by surprise.”

Judging from Sarada and Boruto’s expressions, this did _absolutel_ y catch them with surprise.

“Wh-What _great_ news! Well, you know, we both know what _BLT_ is so it’s totally ok if you aren’t! _Uh,_ aren't straight I mean.” Boruto said while giving him two big thumbs up.

“Boruto, it’s called _LGBT_ ," Sarada said while facepalming. “Well, uh, Mitsuki, we’re your friends no matter what. Nothing can change that, ok?”

Mitsuki nodded. Sure, there was a lot more to it than that, he thought to himself while amusedly looking at Boruto doing a little thumbs up-dance. But that was a discussion for another time and place. Another place of mind, even. Maybe someday, he could be totally honest about that too.

-*-

Another Wednesday, another art lesson.

Sumire and Mitsuki both were drawing the assignment for the night while Mr. Sai cheered them on. Sumire had in the past few months seemed a lot less anxious and high strung when they were hanging out, which was really nice. It seemed like things were improving for her too.

“Mitsuki, what color glitter should I use?” Sumire asked.

“Uh… I don’t know. My only skill as far as art goes is drawing snakes.” Mitsuki said.

“Red it is, then!” Sumire said excitedly while sprinkling glitter over her painting.

This confused Mitsuki quite a bit. Why would she ask that if she would just decide on her own anyway?

When he asked, Sumire grinned and said:

“I guess you’ll just have to keep wondering that. It’s symbolic for me, you see, to decide things on my own. You’re just gonna have to deal with it!”

Then she flicked a few specks of glitter at him, just to tease.

Mitsuki really liked this carefree and happy version of Sumire. The old Sumire that would spontaneously explode if she sensed any sort of conflict had probably been a very stressful person to be.

“What are you smiling at, Mitsuki?” Sumire asked. She had at this point gotten glitter all over her hands and shirt.

“This, I guess. I think we’re both a lot happier now compared to before. I think it’s nice.”

“Baby steps, right?” Sumire said while trying to dust off the glitter, but instead just making it worse.

Sure, taking life one step at a time was difficult, but maybe it was worth it in the end if Mitsuki got to keep the people he cared about close to him. And finally, he had no intention of letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos and much appreciated! :D  
> aLSO i actually made some concept art for this fanfic that I posted to my tumblr, here's the link: https://falloutboiruto.tumblr.com/post/182349463022/this-is-some-concept-art-i-made-for-one-of-my


End file.
